Olympics 2018: All the figure skating routines you need to see before the competition begins

Wondering about the skaters from other countries? Well, here are the athletes to watch in each of the four events:

Men’s Singles

Yuzuru Hanyu, Japan
The gold medalist at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, The New York Times called Hanyu “Michael Jackson on Ice.” He recently suffered an ankle injury that interrupted his training, but he’ll likely remain a strong contender in PyeongChang.

Shoma Uno, Japan
Since Yuzuru Hanyu is sitting out the team competition due to his injury, Uno, a Worlds silver medalist, will lead Japan in the team event. “I will do everything I can to contribute to the team and take that experience with me into the individual competition,” he said.

Javier Fernandez, Spain
This will be Fernandez’s third Olympics, most recently placing fourth in Sochi. Despite fierce competition, he hopes to make history as the first Spanish figure skater to win a medal at the Winter Olympics.

Women’s Singles

Kaetlyn Osmond, Canada
Osmond previously helped bring Canada a silver medal in the team event in Sochi, but she’s now a strong contender for the Women’s Singles competition after winning a silver medal of her own at the 2017 World Championships.

Evgenia Medvedeva, Olympic Athletes of Russia
Medvedeva is a two-time world champion and a strong favorite for a medal in PyeongChang, as well as a fierce advocate for Russian athletes‘ eligibility amidst the country’s doping scandal. But she also has a playful side: She’s skated as magical girl Sailor Moon, and in the 2018 European Championships, she embodied Anna Karenina with a number from the soundtrack of the 2012 Tolstoy adaptation.

Alina Zagitova, Olympic Athletes of Russia
It’s possible Medvedeva’s biggest competition comes in the form of her training partner, 15-year-old Zagitova. Zagitova told Reuters that the pair are friends. “In practice, we have a rivalry, but not in a bad way,” she said.

Pairs

Ryom Tae-Ok and Kim Ju-Sik, North Korea
After rare talks between North and South Korea, the latter announced that North Korea would be sending athletes to the 2018 Winter Olympics. The registration deadline was even extended so that Ryom and Kim would be allowed to compete.

Sui Wenjing and Han Cong, China
After winning gold at Worlds in 2017, PyeongChang will be the pair’s first Olympic showing. PyeongChang also marks the first Olympics where skaters are allowed to perform to songs with lyrics, which helps this duo’s routine to “Hallelujah.” “Sometimes music with vocals, it brings out more passion,” Han told The New York Times.

Aliona Savchenko and Bruno Massot, Germany
Neither Savchenko nor Massot are native Germans, but they earned German citizenship in order to compete together. Massot nearly didn’t make it in time for PyeongChang: He failed the written portion of his citizenship test twice. Third time was the charm for this duo, and Massot’s citizenship came through just in time for Olympic eligibility.

Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov, Olympic Athletes of Russia
Part of the contingent designated “The Olympic Athletes of Russia,” Tarasova and Morozov are two-time European champions and won bronze in the 2017 World Championship. Their playful costuming and choreography to Christina Aguilera’s “Candyman” makes for a playful, high-energy romp.

Ice Dancing

Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron, France
Although this is their first Olympics showing, Papadakis and Cizeron are two-time Worlds champs and favorites for Olympic medals alongside their training partners from Canada (see below). At the 2017 World Championships, Papadakis and Cizeron had the highest-ever recorded score in the free dance with 119.15 points.

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, Canada
Virtue and Moir are already Olympic champions, winning gold in 2010 and silver in 2014. The duo is ready to bring the star power to PyeongChang, although they did recently decide to tone down their sensual Moulin Rouge routine for the Olympic judges.

Click here to see the full TV schedule of events at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang.